ARARAT’S Lauchlan Dalgleish has a chance to reignite his football career, after being picked up by the Western Bulldogs’ VFL counterpart.
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The former Essendon midfielder was delisted at the end of the 2015.
However, the Footscray Bulldogs have offered Dalgleish a second chance.
Dalgleish told the Ararat Advertiser while it was disappointing to leave the Bombers, he would relish another chance.
“I stepped away from the game for a while, but I’ve started to get the itch again,” he said.
“I caught up with Footscray coach Ash Hansen and had to chat to him and they seem to have a good program there.”
Dalgleish played three senior games for Essendon at the end of the 2013 season, but an injury-plagued 2015 campaign prevented him from returning.
“He gives us that AFL experience, which is important that we have for our young AFL-listed players playing each week but also for our VFL squad in general,’’ Hansen told BulldogsTV.
Dalgleish said he was hoping to rekindle his form in a bid to break into an AFL club in the future.
“I just want to enjoy my footy this year and get some consistency in games and hopefully not get injured,” he said.
“Hopefully I can help the young boys who have come through from the TAC Cup.”
Dalgleish worked predominantly as a defender during his time at the Bombers.
However, Hansen said he had the capacity to push into the midfield.
“He’s got a lot of fantastic attributes like his speed and his ball use which I think will suit the Bulldogs style of play really well,’’ he said.
“He will be one of our really important midfielders but we think he has got a lot of room to develop in a lot of different areas.”
The hard-running Dalgleish said it would be enjoyable to play some games through midfield.
“I haven’t played through the middle for a while. I started up forward with the Bombers and then moved down back,” he said.
The Footscray Bulldogs have secured former Essendon midfielder Lauchlan Dalgleish for the 2016 season, along with four more signings.
Dalgleish was recruited to the Bombers via pick 11 in the 2012 rookie draft.
He is joined by Jordan Staley, Hugh Wales, Andrew Tashevski-Beckwith and Brad Olsson, who also signed with Footscray this week.
The team’s first practice match will be Sunday, March 12 against Collingwood at the Holden Centre.
